


Avatar: Light the Dark

by DotaroVSJio



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Help, how do tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 05:22:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26846605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DotaroVSJio/pseuds/DotaroVSJio
Summary: Luz Noceda, age 19, is the reincarnation of the Avatar, a legendary person capable of bending all four elements. Initially a carefree and happy person, her responsibilities come into fruition when the Red Lotus rises once more, bent on destroying the Avatar. She flees from the organization, only to find herself in a strange place between Earth and the Spirit World--the Demon Realm.Amity Blight, age 18, is constantly pressured by her parents and peers to be the best that she is. After graduating from Hexside, she begins her training at the Emperor’s Coven, preparing to become a fully-fledged member. However, when a human wanders into the Boiling Isles, everything is turned on its head, and Amity must decide what side she’ll take.THIS FIC IS CURRENTLY ON HOLD. THE UPDATE FOUND HERE IS JUST AN ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING THAT. IGNORE IT IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT THIS FIC.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Emira Blight/Viney
Comments: 16
Kudos: 123





	1. Bender and Witch

If anything, Luz was an amazing runner. Whether it was running for track, running to train, or running for her life, she’d be great at it. She really wished that the third scenario wasn’t a reality, but fate is a cruel force.

Luz knew what the Red Lotus was. At the end of the Hundred Year War, the Order of the White Lotus made the decision to make themselves public knowledge, existing to help train the Avatar. A group of people opposed this and broke off from the White Lotus and formed their own organization, existing as a global militant anarchist federation. They call themselves the Red Lotus.

After Avatar Korra defeated their leader, Zaheer, the group disappeared into the shadows of the four nations. While Fire Lord Izumi and the Chiefs of the Southern and Northern Water Tribes worked hard to find them, there was no telling how many members existed.

Now, approximately two reincarnations of the Avatar later, Luz was running for her life as the Red Lotus sicks their large number of forces on Omashu, where she had just finished her earthbending training. With the support of the White Lotus and Earth President Wu’s forces, Luz was able to escape with her life intact. However, she now found herself being chased by two Red Lotus members and their current leader, Zai Fu. While she was a good runner, Luz knew that she wouldn’t be able to race ahead of them forever.

Thinking quickly, Luz rounded a corner into an alley and quickly erected a high wall made of earth. She knew it wouldn’t hold them off for long, but her pursuers would be caught off guard by the sudden development. On either side of the alley were doors; two to Luz’s left, and one to her right. The first one on the left was locked, and though Luz  _ had  _ taught herself how to pick locks with metalbending, she didn’t really have the time for it right now.

Luz went to open the door on the right. As she reached for the doorknob, it swung open. A Red Lotus member greeted her. “Nowhere left to run, Avatar!” He immediately blasted a wave of fire at her. Luz jumped into the air to avoid it. As she landed, another stone wall rose. A quick jab with her fist sent the wall flying towards the firebender, knocking him back through the doorway. With no other options, Luz quickly stepped to the final door.

As her hand rested on the doorknob, Luz suddenly felt a wave of energy surge through her hand and into the rest of her body. A brilliant light began to shine through the cracks of the door. Luz was hesitant to open the door. That is, until she heard the earth wall she lifted earlier begin to crumble. With no other options, Luz opened the door. It swung open with enough force to knock her back. As she looked on, there was a blinding radiance gazing back at her. It reminded her of the Spirit Portal in Republic City.

Rocks suddenly went flying behind her. Looking to her left, the wall had been destroyed, and Zai Fu was standing there, an angry look on his face.

“You’re through, Avatar Luz. Just give up now.”

If Zai Fu caught her, everything would end in disaster. As she was now, in this confined space, she wasn’t sure if she was able to beat him. Even with the Avatar State, Luz wasn’t sure she’d be able to keep it under control for long. That left her only one option. 

Ducking under a boulder heading her way, Luz took a deep breath and jumped through the portal.

“It seems our hard work is about to pay off.”

Deep beneath the Emperor’s Castle, various people were running across the room, either putting in data, plugging something in, or even trying to escape the room before the portal is turned on. Lilith Clawthorne was overseeing the entire process as Emperor Belos stood beside her, looking forward to the experiment.

Amity stood next to her mentor, slightly intimidated by the abnormally tall figure on Lilith’s other side. When she had first begun her training to become a fully-fledged Emperor’s Coven member, she wasn’t expecting it to be so technologically advanced compared to the rest of the Isles. If Belos’s staff and the strange mechanics of the castle itself weren’t enough to blow her away, the portal under the castle was.

It turns out that for the past fifteen years, Emperor Belos and his followers have been focusing on building a portal that is supposed to cross the divide into the Human Realm. Lilith called this divide ‘the Gap’. Though it isn’t confirmed, the witch believed that the Human Realm and Demon Realm were once interconnected, 

Amity wasn’t privy to what Belos planned to do with this portal. Until the portal was known to be stable, no one of utmost importance was allowed through. That’s why, for this experiment, they brought in a witch that was originally going to be petrified. Once Lilith and several other scientists had made a sudden breakthrough with the portal, however, Belos suddenly ordered that no witches would be turned to stone. This witch was tasked with crossing over to the Human Realm, grabbing some form of evidence that they were over there, then coming back within one minute.

The portal was near ready to activate, which meant that the test subject was thrust in front of it and everyone else was either taking their positions or leaving the room entirely. Belos, Lilith and Amity stood behind a thick screen of enhanced glass, designed to protect against the strongest of explosions. A voice came over the room.

“All preparations complete. Activating the portal in 10, 9, 8…” Amity found herself holding her breath as the man counted down. If this was a success, then her mentor would be more than thrilled. Not just as the leader of the Emperor’s Coven, but also as a scientist. Despite that, Amity couldn’t help the spiders crawling around in her stomach. She wasn’t sure if it was out of excitement, anxiousness, or another feeling. She had a small sense that this experiment wasn’t going to go how it was supposed to.

“Three…”

Amity saw Lilith’s grip on her staff tighten. She grabbed her teacher’s hand with her own, offering a reassuring squeeze. Lilith glanced at her and smiled before returning her attention to the portal.

“Two…”

Belos had been tapping his foot somewhat impatiently for a while now. He stopped as the countdown neared its end.

“One.”

As a man pulled a switch, Amity was suddenly blinded by a flash of light. Rubbing her eyes, her vision returned. Where there was once a pocket of nothing but air in the middle of the portal now sat a swirling mass of pure energy. Several of the scientists and other people who worked on the project cheered, some of them hugging each other. Lilith let out a sigh of relief. As the excitement died down, they moved on to the next phase of the experiment.

“Subject M will now step through the portal. Once a minute has passed, subject M will return with a piece of evidence from the Human Realm.” Several beeps were heard. “Subject M, please step through the portal.”

The witch took a deep breath.  _ Anything to avoid petrification,  _ is what went through his mind. That thought resonated throughout his entire body as it practically moved on autopilot, slowly inching towards the portal. Belos spoke up for the first time as the subject walked.

“If this is a success, Lilith, then I see a bright future ahead of you. You’ve done well to get this far.” The emperor’s voice raised goosebumps on Amity’s skin. She was also happy for Lilith. After all she’d been through, the struggle to get to where she was, she deserved this. Amity wanted nothing more than for her mentor to have a happy ending.

Which is why her body was then filled with nothing but horror when a person--a  _ human _ \--came from the other side of the portal.

The first thing Luz saw when she jumped through the portal was a figure. She didn’t have time to stop herself, so the two of them collided rather violently. The pain in Luz’s forehead was sharp, but not as bad as other injuries she’d suffered before. As she sat on the ground and rubbed her head, she opened her eyes and took note of her surroundings. 

_ This...isn't the Spirit World. _

Luz found herself in what she could only assume to be a testing chamber for something. Wiring ran around the room. Buttons and levers peppered the area. The next thing Luz noticed was the people. The person she’d bumped into was tall, and his ears were  _ very  _ pointy. Other people were among them, but were dressed in white robes and had plague doctor-esque masks covering their faces. Three other figures stood in an observational balcony, one of which wore a golden mask resembling a wendigo mask. In the moment of stunned silence, Luz found herself unable to say anything but one phrase.

“Uh...wrong room?”

Everyone else reacted immediately after. The man she’d run into quickly backed away, still on the ground. The people in white robes took battle stances or ran. The figure in the middle of the balcony, a blue haired woman with a white staff, shouted orders at them.

“Shut down the portal! Capture that human!” Someone pulled a lever as Luz turned around. A light resembling the one she’d just passed through slowly faded from existence, leaving nothing in the strange machine’s space. She looked back at the people surrounding her, some of them summoning staves.

“Wait! I’m sure this is a big misunderstanding.” While Luz knew she could handle herself in a fight, her mother had always taught her to try and talk to your enemies first. “If we could just talk this through, then we can reach a better solution.” Her adversaries weren’t interested. A rather large man, both in height and muscle size, charged at her. His ears were pointy, just like the other person’s.  _ I’m definitely not where I thought I’d end up. _

Seeing no other options, Luz also settled into her own stance. As the brute approached, she took a deep breath and stomped her foot on the ground. A pillar of earth shot up from beneath the man, sending him flying into the ceiling. She kicked the upper half of the pillar, causing it to glide through the air and into one of the masked ones. She dodged a beam of light sent her way from the other direction, blasting a fireball at the assailant in retaliation. Thorny vines suddenly sprouted from underneath Luz, attempting to grab her ankles. She quickly jumped with a blast of air. Focusing her energy, a wave of fire and air burst from the impact as she landed.

_ These people definitely don’t like me. I gotta get out of here.  _ She noticed a metal door. With no other options, Luz began her trek through her enemies.

Amity and Lilith stood in awe at the chaos unfolding in the testing chamber. One moment, everyone is cheering and excited at the fact that the portal had even  _ opened _ . Now, not only was the condemned witch cowering somewhere in the corner, a  _ human  _ of all things had crossed through the portal and was now slinging the various elements at the Emperor’s guards. The silence in the balcony was finally broken by Belos.

“I expect you to take care of this,  _ Lilith _ .” The way he said her mentor’s name made Amity worry. Before she could say anything, though, Lilith let go of her hand and nodded.

“Of course, Emperor Belos. We’ll have the human contained in no time. Come with me, Amity.” Lilith began rushing towards the door leading to the chamber. Amity followed quickly behind her, ready to summon her Abomination at any time. The two of them were ready to join the battle when the door suddenly scrunched into itself once, then twice, then a third time, when it finally came off its hinges. The human tossed it aside, preparing to run until she noticed Lilith and Amity standing there. Before she could move, Lilith quickly tapped her staff on the ground, the eyes of her palisman flashing a bright blue. The human was suddenly cast into a blue ball. She attempted to burst it with her flames, but the spell was impervious to most outward attacks.

“Stand down, human. You won’t be able to break out of that.” Lilith’s voice was serious and intimidating. After a few more attempts, the human relented. She looked Lilith in the eyes.

“Please, listen to me! I don’t know how I got here, I just need to get back to Omashu. If we could just talk this out, we can reach a peaceful conclusion to this whole misunderstanding.” The human sounded genuine, and ended her sentence with a kind smile. Amity realized that this was a rather precarious situation. Whoever this human was, with the way she had jumped through the portal, she probably hadn’t meant to end up here. This ordeal was no one’s fault.

Lilith, however, wasn’t swayed by the human’s words. “We will talk, once you are properly imprisoned for trespassing and resisting arrest.” Lilith began making her way back where they came from. Though Amity wanted to speak up, she found the words catching in her throat as she looked at the human, who looked at her. The human sighed, seemingly resigning to her fate, and sat down in the ball cross-legged. She put her fists together and closed her eyes.

_ Focus. Let your chi flow through your body. Once you can feel it in every vein and every organ, enter the Avatar State.  _ Luz remembered the words her waterbending teacher, Kontra, told her. It was a phrase originally uttered by the Avatar before her, Avatar Stei. Stei asked Kontra to teach it to the Avatar after him, as it helped him stay in the Avatar State for longer periods of time without losing control of it. Luz took a deep breath, then slowly let it out.

As the two of them were going through the observation deck, Amity noticed that Belos was gone. The way he could appear and disappear within this castle was unnerving, to say the least. Currently, several healers were rushing into the testing chamber, helping those who were caught up in the human’s attack. Amity briefly wondered how a human, who was supposed to have no magical prowess, was able to do something like that. Magic was only something witches could do, yet the control this human showed over their abilities was something only the strongest and most experienced witches could achieve.

Amity was pulled from her thoughts as a rush of energy flowed over her. Lilith must have felt it, too, as they both reacted in a similar way. They turned to the ball Lilith had formed. The human was standing up once more, arms outstretched. Her eyes were glowing. Though hard to see, Amity could tell that the air within the ball was flowing.

_ She couldn’t be... _

The ball began to expand. Lilith’s grip on her staff tightened, and Amity supposed she was truly focusing her magic. After drawing a spell circle, Amity’s Abomination rose from the ground and lurched towards the ball. It was too late.

The magical ball suddenly burst with an explosion of air. Amity and Lilith were launched, and Amity felt a sharp pain rush through her as her body slammed into the wall. The human’s eyes returned to their normal state, and she made a break for the exit. As the human disappeared through the doorway, Amity scrambled to her feet and quickly made chase. The two of them sprinted through the castle, and despite other guards attempting to apprehend the human, they were sent flying by a fire bolt or a burst of air. The human even used the water from a flowing waterfall in the castle to encase several guards in ice. Their attempts weren’t entirely in vain. One guard had managed to send a bolt of light into the human’s side. Despite the injury impeding her abilities, she kept moving forward.

As they ran, the main gate of the castle came into view. The human broke off into a sprint.  _ Oh, no you don’t!  _ Amity drew another spell circle in the air. The hand of her Abomination crept from the ground, catching the human by the ankle. She tripped, hitting the ground hard. The rest of her Abomination lifted itself into existence, trapping the human within its arms. She flailed her legs around, but it was futile.

“You won’t be able to escape twice, human.” If it was Amity of all people who was able to capture this human, then she’d surely be showered in praise by Lilith. Belos may also even give her a reward! She smiled to no one but herself, knowing what will happen now that she’s caught the human.

The human stopped her flailing for a second, instead opting to look Amity in the eye. “I have a  _ name _ , actually. It’s Luz.  _ Avatar  _ Luz, in fact.”

Amity rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t matter what your name is. Even if the whole trespassing thing wasn’t really your fault, you still assaulted numerous guards and resisted arrest. You  _ will  _ answer for your crimes.”

Luz’s expression softened. “Please, I don’t know where I am. One second, I’m running for my  _ life  _ from the Red Lotus, who’ve been trying to kill me for the past two weeks. I see some glowing light, and next thing I know, I’m here. I’m so confused, and all I need is help.  _ Please _ .”

Amity took a deep breath. She didn’t know what this ‘Red Lotus’ was, but she could tell that this Luz girl was being genuine. It’s only natural--if Amity were suddenly thrust into the Human Realm, and everyone tried to capture  _ her _ , then she’d be confused and scared, as well. She wanted to speak, but there was a sudden sound of footsteps coming from behind them. Amity looked, and sure enough, there were several guards, all heading this way, led by Lilith. Luz sighed.

“Welp, guess that’s that.”

Amity turned around just in time to see Luz breathe a stream of fire. It was enough to get Amity to back off, and to get the Abomination to drop her. Taking one last look back, Luz raised a giant wall between her and the guards coming after her. She took one last look at Amity, who’d managed to get out of the way before the wall appeared.

Seeing no more reason to stay here, Luz turned around and ran out of the castle. Amity watched as she grew smaller and smaller, racing into the horizon. Lilith managed to make a hole through the wall. She and the other guards poured through it, but they also realized that initiating a chase was futile at this point. Lilith helped Amity get back on her feet. “Are you okay,” her mentor asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Amity patted herself down, checking for injuries, just in case. When she found none, Lilith relaxed.

“Begin working on a wanted poster for that human. The reward will be ten million snails.” One of the guards saluted and ran off. Lilith sighed. “I’ll have to report this to the emperor.”

Amity could see her teacher’s hesitance. Belos was not someone you’d want to come to with bad news. Not on your own, anyway. “I’ll come with you!” Amity spoke more eagerly than she meant to. Despite that, Lilith smiled. The two of them headed towards Belos’s throne room, dreading their destination.

Eda was flying home after a long day of delivering potions and swindling people with weird human treasures. She was proud of herself; today’s haul was rather large, earning her enough money to last a while. She hummed to herself happily as she flew.

She was over the forest that hid the Owl House from outsiders when she noticed someone walking through the woods. Why anyone would be there at this hour was beyond her. The demons and monsters around could tear anyone to shreds--anyone besides Eda, of course. Letting her curiosity get the better of her, Eda guided Owlbert further down, attempting to get a better look at the person.

_ Now what’s a  _ human  _ doing around here? _

Eda glided down to the point where she was level with the human. “What brings someone like you to this forest?” The human jumped backwards as Eda appeared. She then winced and gripped her side. Eda looked and saw blood trickling between her hands. Though she wasn’t really willing to help some random bleeding person in the middle of the woods, the human’s look of pain said something to Eda.

“Alright, kid, get on. I’ll take care of you.” She patted the space on her staff behind her. The human nodded gratefully, then hopped on, clearly too tired to register the absurdity of this situation. The two of them then took to the air once more. “So, kid, what’s your name?”

“Luz.” The human’s voice was rather weak. She’d clearly had that injury for a while, now. Eda wondered how she’d been able to stay awake.

“Well, Luz, can I ask why you were wandering through some random forest with a hole in the side of your body?”

Luz thought back on the events of today. After Omashu was attacked by the Red Lotus, she was then running for her life before she was pulled into an unknown world, unlike anything she’d ever seen. After another attempt at being arrested, Luz somehow managed to escape with her life, but not without any wounds.

“It’s a long story.”


	2. Second Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two weeks have passed since Luz arrived in the Demon Realm, and people everywhere have been affected.

It had been two weeks since the Avatar disappeared. Currently, the leading members of the Red Lotus were in hiding while those supporting the Avatar were relentlessly searching for her. Wherever Avatar Luz had run off to, she’d be found eventually.

Zai Fu, earthbending leader of the Red Lotus, was sitting in a small room with two of his associates; Silv, an airbender; and Reyes, a bloodbender. The three of them pondered the disappearance of the Avatar.

“Think she’s somewhere in the Spirit World?” While Reyes was all for cryptic or philosophical questions, when it came to his actual duties, he presented the obvious option. Zai Fu had considered that possibility before, but the absurdity of what he saw when he had the Avatar in his grasp nearly denied that opportunity.

“I haven’t heard of anyone besides the Avatar being able to create a Spirit Portal, though. If what Zai Fu says is true, then that’s probably not the case.” Silv’s belief was that the Avatar used a trick to blind Zai Fu and get away. Her theory wasn’t all that far fetched, but Zai Fu felt that the Avatar was simply running randomly instead of guiding him into a trap. Not only that, but that would’ve been the prime time for the Avatar to attack him.

Reyes and Silv bickered back and forth between each other as Zai Fu thought about what their next course of action should be. With the Avatar missing, this is their best opportunity to topple the governments and leaders that were keeping the ‘peace’ of the world. However, this also gave the Avatar’s followers a chance to regroup and plan their next attack against the Red Lotus. They were strong, Zai Fu had to admit. He knew they needed to be careful when going about this.

“We’re not going to worry about any leaders right now,” Zai Fu declared. His deep voice resonated within Reyes and Silv, silencing them. “For now, the Red Lotus will be working in the shadows. Our first order of business: finding the Avatar.”

Koal and her brother Kirn wandered the woods. The Spirit World was confusing, to say the least. Koal was pretty sure she’d seen a mushroom sprout legs, uproot itself, and plant itself in another spot while it thought she wasn’t looking. When it was caught in the act, it blamed the twin airbenders for disturbing the peace of the forest.

“ _ Luuuuuuuz _ ! Are you out here?” Koal called out, her throat beginning to dry up from shouting variations of that phrase for the past two hours. While numerous other people had said that the Avatar couldn’t have been anywhere in the Spirit World, Koal didn’t want to give up hope. After all, this was their best chance at finding Luz before the Red Lotus did. 

Kirn kicked a rock out of boredom. “Come on, Koal, we’ve been here for way longer than we need to be.” He laid a comforting hand on his sister’s shoulder. “I’m sure we’ll find Luz soon, but it was getting dark when we left. We need to go home.”

Koal wanted to kick him. Her brother had been saying things like that for the past thirty minutes, and Koal was getting tired of it. “Oh, so because you have your tattoos, everything you say is right?” Koal herself was close to getting her tattoos; she could feel it. And yet, any time she asked Monk Sutra about them, he told her she wasn’t ready. That combined with the fact that she was seventeen and Kirn had gained his tattoos when he was fifteen made her a little mad. She sighed, knowing that fighting was going to get them nowhere. “Sorry, Kirn. I didn’t mean to lash out.”

Her brother smiled gently. “It’s okay. You’re tired, so you aren’t as in control of your emotions. I’ve been there.” He looked to the beacon that was the Spirit Portal leading to Republic City. “Come on. I’ll make you your favorite kale wraps when we get home.”

While Koal did like her kale wraps, and she appreciated Kirn’s worry, she was still worried about Luz. No one had heard from the Avatar for two weeks, now. No messages on their phones, no letters, emails, nothing. Normally, when Luz was in trouble, she was quick to come to her friends for help. With that in mind, there were two options as to what happened: either Luz was in a place where she couldn’t message  _ anyone _ , or the Red Lotus got her first. Koal shuddered, pushing that thought out of her head immediately.

“Yeah. Let’s go.” The two of them began walking through the woods. The Spirit World always made Koal feel like she wasn’t alone. While it somewhat made her uncomfortable, she also wanted to stay to see if any spirits were following her. She found them interesting, unlike her brother, who didn’t really care.

The siblings had walked for about five minutes before a voice interrupted them. “You two are leaving so soon?” When Koal spun around, she saw a large wolf sitting before the pair, a bored expression on its face. A blue gem adorned its forehead, the rest of its body covered in glistening white fur. Kirn jumped back in surprise, but Koal remained calm, as she was taught.

“Unfortunately, yes. We have business to attend to in the Human World.” Koal spoke with honesty, as she had always been taught. The wolf let out a yawn.

“You’ve only been looking for a couple of hours. How do you know the Avatar isn’t somewhere deeper in the Spirit World?”

Koal narrowed her eyes. “Do you know where the Avatar is?”

“No, I don’t, but it was fun for a second to make you believe I did.” The wolf laid its head on its paws. “Avatar Luz hasn’t appeared in the Spirit World for a while, now. Strange, as she would often visit numerous times a week.”

The wolf was right, as far as Koal was concerned. Luz loved the Spirit World--when she wasn’t taking care of Avatar business, she would likely be here, frollicking with whatever friendly spirits she could find. A memory of Luz and Koal playing tag with some spirits popped up in her head, making her smile.

“If you two do have business in the Human World, then by all means, go ahead.” The wolf’s ears perked up. “However, there has been some interesting activity regarding the Spirit World lately. I figured you’d want to hear about it.”

Kirn exchanged a look with his sister. Her eyes were filled with curiosity, telling Kirn that she wanted to stay and listen. With a sigh of resignation, he looked up to the spirit.

“What do you know?”

The wolf stood up and circled the two of them three times before settling down once more. Its tail was wrapped around them both, somewhat protectively. It let out another yawn before it began talking again.

“Long ago, far before the era of bending and the Avatar and whatnot, the Spirit World was attached to what we spirits often refer to as our reflection. Whereas the Spirit World is somewhat peaceful, this other dimension is full of uncontainable chaos. We call it the Demon Realm.

“The Demon Realm, true to its name, is home to various demons, monsters, what have you. However, there is a race there that dominates the land: witches. These witches use magic to control the Realm. They don’t really give the demons a chance at ruling.”

Koal was baffled by this knowledge. Kirn was equally surprised, but didn’t want to show it. “Are you saying that Luz is in this Demon Realm?”

The wolf tilted its head. “I don’t know. The Spirit World has been cut off from the Demon Realm for tens of thousands of years. No one here has bothered to try and reconnect, and it’s obvious that the existence of the Demon Realm isn’t something many humans know.”

Koal had no idea how to process this information. She’d thought that humans knew everything there was to know about the Human and the Spirit Worlds. Now, this random wolf spirit was telling them that there was an entirely separate realm from those, one that no one has crossed over to for who knows how long. She’d have to tell Chief Kontra of this discovery. His research in the spirits was unprecedented; he’d love to hear about something like this.

“Well, I’d love to hear more about the ‘Demon ‘Realm’,” Koal could tell that Kirn was still skeptical as he talked, “but we need to get going. It was nice to talk to you, mister, uh… wolf?”

“Szellem.” Szellem was unamused.

“Right. Lovely to meet you, Szellem.” Kirn then grabbed Koal’s arm and began dragging her along. Koal looked back to Szellem and offered a polite wave.

“Nothing happens for no reason. If the Avatar was dragged into the Demon Realm, perhaps your focus shouldn’t be on getting her back, and instead seeing how you can support her.” Szellem’s deep voice gave Koal plenty of food for thought. He was right; every little thing that happens is important.

But if Luz did somehow get stuck in the Demon Realm, how were they supposed to help her when no one alive knew about it?

Lilith didn’t want to be here. She wanted to be out tracking down the human that was running rampant around the Boiling Isles. She wanted to be conducting a new experiment with the portal. Instead, she was currently standing outside the Owl House, working up the nerve to knock on the door and talk to her estranged sister.

The human had completely disappeared in the two weeks since she came to the Isles. Lilith had no idea how she’d managed to evade capture for so long. Sure, the Emperor’s guards weren’t exactly smart, but they weren’t completely incompetent. And at this point, everyone in the Emperor’s Coven was aware of the human’s abilities, so it wasn’t like they were going into this unprepared.

That was another thing Lilith didn’t understand. How was this human able to do magic like that? As far as all witches were concerned, humans had no magical prowess at all. But the way that human had defeated several trained witches and even caught Lilith off guard would say otherwise. The human may have even more abilities that they aren’t aware of.

Which is why she sought out her sister. If there was anyone to go to about wild and unpredictable magic (besides Emperor Belos), then it would be Eda Clawthorne, the Owl Lady. Lilith wasn’t sure how cooperative Eda would be, but she was running out of options.

Cautiously, Lilith knocked on the door. The owl face embedded in it opened its eyes sleepily, shooting open in surprise when it saw Lilith.

“Hey,  _ Eeeeeeeda _ ! That weird lady you call your sister is here! Hoot!” Lilith jumped back and pointed her staff at the door when it had begun talking. She wasn’t expecting that. The inhabitants of the Owl House must not have been expecting it, either, because a series of crashing sounds followed.

Eventually, the door opened, and there stood Eda. Her golden gem glistened in the light of the sun. She blinked at Lilith. “Lily. Wasn’t expecting you. To what do I owe this visit?”

Lilith took a deep breath. She’d rehearsed this speech several times before. “In the name of the Emperor’s Coven, Edalyn Clawthorne, you are hereby called to--”

“Yeah yeah, don’t want whatever you’re selling. Have a good day.” Eda quickly attempted to shut the door. Lilith, in a panic, stepped forward, only for the door to close on her foot. Ignoring the blistering pain, she pushed the door open slightly.

“Edalyn, please, I need your help. This is important.” Eda was surprised to see Lilith so… desperate. Whatever the problem was, it must be serious (even though Eda already had an idea as to what that problem was).

The two of them were now sitting on the couch in the living room of the Owl House. Eda had offered Lilith some apple blood, but she politely declined. Eda proceeded to drink both of their glasses. She then waited for Lilith to get to why she was here.

“So, we’ve run into a… criminal that we can’t seem to catch. Their magic is unlike anything we’ve seen before. It’s mostly just utilizing air, water, fire, and the ground itself, but our abilities to negate magic seem completely ineffective against it. This criminal has bested everything we’ve thrown at them.” She looked at Eda with pleading eyes. “Please, Edalyn, we need your help. You know more about wild magic than anyone else. You must know  _ something _ .”

Eda pondered this. She’d never come across any type of magic that couldn’t be negated. Even the youngest of witchlings can dispel a full grown witch’s magic with the right timing. Magic like that simply didn’t exist; it was impossible.

_ Was. _

A lot of the things on Eda’s list of things that are impossible have been crossed off in the last couple of weeks. The first one was a human on the Boiling Isles. The second was the human doing magic. The third was the human’s magic being something completely separate from a witch’s magic. Thus, it didn’t follow the same rules as a witch’s magic.

Luz had been eager to show off her skills to Eda once she recovered. The human’s abilities intrigued her. The way she practically danced around, letting the air, water, earth and fire flow around her as naturally as a flowing river was almost mesmerizing. While witches had to spend days, if not  _ weeks _ , learning a new spell, Luz talked about how some things could just come naturally to her.

“Sorry, Lily, haven’t heard of anything like that. Not for a normal witch, anyway.” Eda figured she could at least try to get Lilith to pour out some more information.

“That’s just it, Edalyn; she  _ isn’t  _ a normal witch.” Lilith didn’t realize she’d spilled the human’s gender. Eda took that as a sign that the Emperor’s Coven was definitely looking for Luz. And Eda wasn’t about to go selling out a fellow criminal. That, and Luz had been growing on her in the time they’d spent at the Owl House together. Of course, Eda also knew that she couldn’t let Lilith go empty handed, as she would probably guess something was up if she said nothing.

“Well, if this criminal can’t be caught by conventional means, that simply means you need to catch them with some  _ un _ conventional means.”

Lilith blinked. “I’m not sure I understand.”

Eda relaxed on the couch. “If magic isn’t going to work, then forget magic. Lay a trap for them.”

“And what kind of trap would that be?”

“How am I supposed to know that? You’re the ones who’ve actually met this criminal. You’re the hunters--the trap is up to you.”

Eda could practically see the gears turning in Lilith’s head. After a passing second, the witch stood up and nodded at Eda. “Thank you, Edalyn. I’ll take your idea into consideration.” She went for the door, pausing before she opened it. “I’ll make sure your cooperation isn’t unrewarded.”

Eda waved a hand. “Ah, don’t mention it, Lily. Hope it all goes well for you.” Lilith was then gone, off to prepare for whatever plot she had devised.

As Eda sat on the couch, finishing her cups of apple blood, King crawled into the room once he was sure Lilith had disappeared. “Well, that was clever,” King commented, “but now that she has that idea, she might head into town. Are you sure Luz will be okay with that disguise you gave her?”

About an hour before Lilith’s arrival, Luz had been groaning about something called ‘cabin fever’ and needing to get out of the house. So, Eda did some special magic to give Luz a disguise to make her appear slightly more demonic. Ecstatic about the disguise, Luz rushed towards Bonesborough, excited to see this new world she was seemingly stuck in.

“She’ll be fine.” Eda took a long sip of her apple blood. “So long as she doesn’t rub her face.”

Amity was sitting in a small tavern known as the Sour Note, known for its ‘interesting’ choices for live performances. Currently, no one was performing, so the bar was instead filled with the sounds of chatting and drinking. Amity herself had a cup of non-alcoholic apple blood. She laid her chin down on her arms, exhausted from the past half a month of work.

The coven’s efforts in capturing the human had been fruitless, to say the least. Ever since the incident at the castle, Amity hadn’t been allowed in any operations to capture her. Avatar Luz had been deemed too dangerous for any in-training coven members. The only news she was getting was whatever Lilith would tell her. She was instead tasked with doing her basic training routines. On break, she sat in this tavern recommended by a friend in the coven.

The bartender had attempted to strike up a conversation multiple times, and while Amity didn’t mind answering his questions, he realized that she wasn’t going to go out of her way to talk to him. So, he left her alone.

Every time the door opened, Amity shivered from the cold wind blowing in. This time, the shiver was accompanied by several footsteps, so Amity assumed that the person had entered the building. Her assumption was right when someone took the seat at the bar right next to her. Inquisitive, Amity took a little look at the new arrival. They had a purple cloak with the hood pulled up, slightly concealing their face. Underneath their cloak were some red clothing, unlike anything Amity had seen around the Isles before. Perhaps it was someone trying to advertise their new clothing brand.

“What can I get for ya?” The bartender’s gruff voice was addressed to the newcomer. They nodded to the bartender.

“Just water, please.” The stranger’s voice was rather feminine. Amity thought it was familiar. After pouring them a glass of water, the bartender began cleaning another guest’s cup. He looked at Amity.

“You’ve been here for a while now, ma’am. You sure the Emperor’s Coven ain’t gonna need you?” The cloaked person perked up when the bartender mentioned the coven. Amity took a note of that.

“I’m still in training, and I’m on my day off. They aren’t going to need me.” The bartender shrugged and went back to the glass he was cleaning. The stranger then spoke up.

“You’re part of the Emperor’s Coven?”

Amity was somewhat suspicious. “Yeah. Like I said, though, I’m still in training. I’m not considered a real member, yet.”

The hooded figure nodded. “I understand that feeling. Being told you aren’t as good as other people, meaning you aren’t treated as their equals.” She turned to Amity, revealing part of her face. She was dreadfully pale, and Amity saw a golden fang in her teeth. Her eyes were an odd shade of brown. They were pretty. Amity mentally kicked herself for thinking that. “I get that kind of thing a lot, where I’m from.”

Amity quirked an eyebrow. “Where are you from, then, if not here?”

The witch’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh, uh, you know, heh, some small place, you probably don’t know it…” Amity nodded slowly, clearly not buying this girl’s act. Her eyes were darting back and forth. When her gaze fell upon Amity’s intense stare, she turned around completely. “Oh, sorry, something in my eye, heh.” She rather furiously rubbed her eye. After a few more seconds, she turned back towards Amity.

The skin where the girl rubbed her eye had changed in color dramatically. Rather than the pale white it was, it took on a much darker color, almost like chocolate. Amity couldn’t help her own face contorting into a shocked expression. The ‘witch’ looked at her quizzically.

“Is there something on my face?” She wiped a few more places on her face, each of them having the exact same result. Amity simply stared, not taking her eyes off of the girl before her.

_ Those eyes, that skin, I feel like I’ve seen her before _ …

The girl looked up at Amity after a while. Whatever spell or disguise she was using had completely vanished. “Is it gone?” Her own eyes then widened drastically.

The two of them recognized each other at the same time. The girl in the purple cloak recognized Amity as one of the first few witches she encountered when she’d first appeared in this place. She had somehow made that sludge monster appear, and was the reason she was almost captured.

Amity recognized her as the human. Avatar Luz.

They reacted at the same time, but Amity was just slightly faster. A spell circle later, and a giant Abomination fist rose from the ground and slammed into Luz’s stomach, sending her flying throughout the establishment. The wooden wall gave way as she crashed through it. Luz felt herself hit another wall. She groaned as her eyes slowly drifted open. The pain in her back settled. It wasn’t the worst she’d ever felt, but it’d still be there in the morning.

As the dust settled, she saw Amity slowly approaching her, the giant sludge demon right behind her. Luz blinked slowly as Amity began to talk.

“Avatar Luz, you are hereby under arrest. Come quietly, and you won’t be harmed.”

Luz stood up, wincing as she rubbed her back. “I’m great, thanks for asking. What am I under arrest for, anyway?”

Amity narrowed her eyes. “I think you have a good idea of why you are.” When Luz sighed and settled into a battle stance, Amity held up a hand. “I’ve already contacted some backup. They’ll be here any minute now. There’s no point in fighting.” That was a lie--Amity hadn’t called anyone. However, several bounty hunters had left the Sour Note just before Luz had entered. Therefore, Amity had to believe that they wouldn’t have gone far.

Luz’s eyes briefly darted to her right. The street was right there. All she needed to do was get Amity’s attention off of her for a second, then she would be free to go. She slid her foot along the ground, kicking up dirt and dust. With a single motion of her arm, the dust flew everywhere, including Amity’s eyes. She stumbled backwards, attempting to shield herself from being blinded. Luz took that as her cue. Quickly, she darted out of the alley, rushing towards the street.

Unfortunately for Luz, bystanders had already begun to investigate the scene. Luz was definitely going to run into someone, whether she tried to stop herself or not. Instead, she used her momentum to launch herself over the crowd, a blast of air sending her even further. Looking back, the people were still blocking the alley. Luz smirked when she realized she bought herself plenty of time.

When she turned back around to leave, several intimidating figures were standing before her with various weapons. She’d seen them leave the Sour Note right before she went in. The biggest man in the middle brandished a sword that was nearly as tall as Luz herself.

“So you are the human,” the man said. His rough accent almost made it impossible for Luz to understand him. Luz slowly took a few steps back, only stopping when she heard someone yelling at her. Peering over her shoulder, Amity was standing just outside the entrance to the Sour Note. She seemed rather angry. Luz’s eyes danced between Amity and the group of what she could only assume to be bounty hunters.

A somewhat long day was about to get a lot longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading!  
> I originally had a lot more planned for this chapter. Unfortunately, it was already getting pretty long, so I figured I'd split it into two.  
> Next time: We meet Willow and Gus, and the airbender twins continue their investigation.


	3. The Demon Realm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> High stakes combat, and Koal and Kirn begin to investigate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> realized I accidentally referred to Koal and Kirn as twins oops  
> Kirn is 19, Koal is 17. Sorry bout that

Luz heard the click of a crossbow. She dodged to the side, feeling an arrow fly past her cheek. A woman wielding a mace charged at her. As she swung, Luz evaded the attack and grabbed her arm. She swung the mercenary into the ground, knocking her unconscious. Luz ran into an alleyway, hearing multiple footsteps behind her. Her first thought was that this would be an excellent time to test out her new staff she made with Eda.

It’s unfortunate that she left it in the tavern.

Several buckets full of water sat in front of a building as Luz turned the corner. Thinking that the person who needed them wouldn’t miss it, she bent the water out and sent it through the floor of the alley. The man with the greatsword was leading the charge. The water suddenly froze, causing the man to slip and fall, sliding along the ice through the alley. He crashed into a small stand. The rest of his gang tumbled over themselves, struggling to get through the ice.

A crash came from behind Luz. She looked behind her to see Amity’s slime beast rushing at her. She took a deep breath and widened her stance. With two hands together, a rush of flames engulfed it. The horror was undeterred, rushing at Luz and attempting to hit her with another punch. She dodged backwards and sent several bricks through it. The earth still had no effect. The behemoth swung multiple times at Luz, but it was slow enough that she was able to dodge everything. She escaped another blow with a jumping backflip. As she landed, a short pillar of earth shot up from under the abomination, sending it flying through the air and crashing down, splattering across the ground.

Amity came around the corner just in time to see her Abomination land. She felt her eye twitch. She focused her energy and shot a large fireball at the human, though it was mostly out of frustration. Luz grabbed the flames and blasted them back towards Amity. She leapt out of the way, avoiding the attack.

Another whistle cut through the air. Luz turned her body just in time to see a spear flying at her. She stepped to the side and guided the spear, twirling it around her body before stabbing it into the ground. Luz then cartwheeled, raising and sending a wall of earth into the one who threw the spear. The greatsword-wielding man Luz had dubbed Eyepatch now charged at her once more. He swung at her neck. As Luz jumped backwards, he spun the sword around and slammed it into the ground. Eyepatch scraped the blade along the round and raised it, launching dirt into Luz’s eyes. Now blinded, Luz randomly shot a stream of fire in front of her. She felt a large hand grab her wrist. Panicking, Luz focused her strength and twirled around, spinning Eyepatch with her. A vortex of air swirled around them, causing his grip to loosen and send him flying away.

As the dust storm settled, Luz got the rest of the dirt out of her eyes. The bounty hunters were defeated. She let out a sigh of relief until she felt a large wet mass engulf her, covering her mouth and restraining her body. She could only assume that it was Amity’s monster. The slime monstrosity turned around, allowing Luz a good look at the green-haired witch controlling it. Amity was holding Luz’s staff.

“Now that I have you properly restrained, Avatar Luz, you’ll be coming with me to the Emperor. He’ll see what your punishment will be.” Luz attempted to talk, but her speech was muffled by the Abomination. It began walking behind Amity as she walked, presumably heading towards the Emperor’s castle.

_ Think. There has to be a way out of here, right?  _ Luz’s head raced in search of an escape route. She couldn’t move her limbs, so bending was out of the question. She frantically looked around, but she figured no one would be willing to help when she’s being imprisoned by a member of the Emperor’s Coven. She began looking for a way out with the knowledge she has of the world.

Luz’s mind eventually came to the story of Toph Beifong, a world renowned earthbender who invented metalbending when she was captured herself. Looking hard, she found the traces of earth within the metal used, enabling her to escape. It was quite the tale, and Luz loved hearing about it, but she couldn’t see why that would help her in this predicament.

But then she remembered the words of her airbending teacher, Monk Sutra.  _ The four elements can be found everywhere. If you don’t see it, you just aren’t looking hard enough.  _ Luz thought about this creation that was holding her captive.  _ If I could just move my arms, then maybe… _

“Hold it there.” Luz recognized the voice as Eyepatch. A large hand grabbed onto her upper arm, pulling her halfway out of the Abomination. “This catch is mine, you got that?”

Amity turned around. The large bounty hunter stood imposingly above her, but she refused to be intimidated. “Unfortunately for you, ruffian, I’m placing her under arrest on behalf of Emperor Belos. You have no authority over me, and I have all authority over you. Stand  _ down _ .”

The brute was unwavered. “Naw, I heard what you said in that there tavern--you’re just some trainee. It ain’t gonna matter which one of us brings the human in. Only difference is I’ll get paid.”

Luz needed to get out of this situation. With both Eyepatch and the Abomination’s grips growing tighter, she felt like she was going to be torn apart. She took a deep breath, then quickly let it out. A stream of air blew from her mouth, catching both Eyepatch and Amity off guard. Luz slipped out of their grips and landed on her feet a few yards away. She exhaled once more, then took on a waterbending stance. The Abomination and Eyepatch both charged her at once. Luz focused her energy, then enacted her plan.

Amity was shocked to see her Abomination take on the form of a ball, then a horizontal wheel. The goo whirled around Luz as she went through the basic motions of waterbending. With one final rotation, Luz closed her fists and slammed the mass into Eyepatch, sending him skidding across the scratchy ground. Luz, however, wasn’t finished. She twirled around, unleashing a deluge of Abomination on Amity, knocking her onto her back and covering her in the gooey substance.

Luz was also somewhat surprised. She wasn’t expecting that to work. Of course, she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. She snatched her staff from the ground and began running off. She got pretty far when a sharp pain flamed up from her right thigh. She gripped her leg as the spear that cut it lodged itself in the ground. She heard Eyepatch yell from somewhere behind her.

“This ain’t over, human! I’ll get you at some point!” His determination was admirable, Luz would give him that. As fast as she could, she hobbled away from the scene,wincing in pain with each step. Her staff helped somewhat, but it wasn’t enough to stop her from tumbling right as two witches turned the corner and nearly bumped into her. The suddenness of it caused Luz to step back rather hard on her leg, and she gasped from the shock. She dropped her staff as she went to apply more pressure on the wound, causing her to fall over in the process. The two witches she ran into gasped when they see the state she’s in.

“Oh, gosh! I’m so sorry, are you okay?” The taller one spoke first. Her voice was gentle, if somewhat high pitched. She rushed to help Luz back to her feet. Luz carefully took her hand, one eye closed from the pain.

“Y-yeah, I think I’ll be fine. Just a little cut, heh.” She looked up at the witch. “Thanks, by the way.”

The witch’s smile was kind and reassuring. Luz felt at peace just by seeing it. “Don’t mention it. My name’s Willow.” Willow timed her introduction as she tucked some of her deep-blue hair behind her ear.

“Luz.” Luz nodded, appreciating the help. Willow’s much shorter companion was shell-shocked, staring at Luz with wide eyes. Willow noticed it, too.

“Uh, Augustus? Are you okay?” She waved a hand in front of Augustus’s face.  
“You… you’re a _human_!” The witch practically shouted as he rushed to Luz, taking in every little detail. Luz was then barraged by a horde of questions. “Where are your gills? Do you secrete venom from your mouth? Is your sweat a defense mechanism?” Luz chuckled at the boy’s young innocence, despite him appearing to be just a bit younger than herself. Willow sighed, but her smile was ever present.

“Augustus, I know you’re really curious about all the features of a human, but she’s clearly in a lot of pain. Let’s just focus on getting her to a healer for now, okay?” Though the young witch was rather disappointed, his smile also grew as he picked up Luz’s staff for her.

“Erm, a regular healer may not be the greatest of ideas,” Luz commented. “I know where we can go, though. We just might wanna hurry.” Willow nodded, understanding the predicament Luz was in--after all, it’s not every day someone has a ten million snails bounty placed on their head. She knew to wait on asking about that, though.

The day after their first encounter with Szellem, Koal and Kirn had gone back to the Spirit World to get more answers from him. Kirn was still rather skeptical, which Koal understood. Why would you believe anyone when they told you there was some ‘other half’ to the Spirit World, forgotten in the clouded annals of history? Despite his reluctance, Kirn was glad that Koal was putting her energy into this research.

Koal was  _ very  _ excited. Not only was Szellem just an interesting character, but her curiosity was piqued by this ‘Demon Realm’. Whatever it was, she knew that she needed to learn more about it. Her need for knowledge was almost enough to get her to stop worrying about Luz.

Which was impossible, by the way.

Luz had been quiet for far too long, as far as Koal was concerned. The Red Lotus had been equally as silent, for that matter. One would think that they’d be using this opportunity of the Avatar’s absence to wreak havoc on the nations, but instead, they’d completely disappeared. Koal was concerned, but it wasn’t enough to make her go out and look for them. The Air Nomads weren’t a people to go out of their way to fight. Besides, finding Luz took priority.

The airbending siblings had been in the Spirit World for around ten minutes now, and Szellem was nowhere to be seen. As patient as Kirn was, he was getting rather restless with how long Szellem was keeping them. He was about to head back into Republic City when Koal heard the large footsteps of the spirit come forward. Szellem’s fur glistened in the light of the spirit portal, entrancing Koal.

“It’s nice to see that you two returned. I was afraid I’d have to deal with our little problem myself.” His tone seemed to be rather serious compared to how he spoke to the siblings before. “Come with me. This is something the both of you will want to see.” Szellem kneeled down, motioning for the pair to climb onto his back. Koal jumped on with excitement. Kirn wondered why they couldn’t just walk, but didn’t want to dampen his younger sister’s mood. He sighed, then got on. Szellem then dashed away, nearly sending the airbenders flying off his back. Koal was laughing with joy as they raced along, drowning out the sounds of her brother’s screams.

Eventually, the trio came to a large field on the edge of a forest. The sight would have been overall beautiful if a storm wasn’t brewing overhead. The dark clouds formed in a spiral, a threatening vortex overhead. Koal was rendered speechless at the view. Kirn, however, was rather unimpressed.

“So, it’s about to rain. Maybe even a tornado. That’s really something.” Szellem shook his head.

“When was the last time you heard of storms in the Spirit World?” Kirn found he didn’t have an answer. Szellem leaned down, telling the siblings it was time to get off. They approached the center of the storm cautiously, Szellem talking as they walked. “Strange happenings in the Spirit World have been growing more common recently. You both will want to see this.”

Silence followed for a couple of seconds. Then, a glimpse of lightning. A shock was heard in the air. The same light flashed once, twice, then one more time. Finally, lightning struck down in the field. The grass was undamaged, but Koal and Kirn had to cover their ears from the roar that followed. Szellem also seemed shaken up from the thunder. Not only that, but there was a large mass of light where the lightning struck. It flickered in and out of translucency for a few seconds before disappearing completely.

“This has happened several times this past while. About three days following Avatar Luz’s disappearance.” Szellem looked to the two airbenders. “The Demon Realm is home to all kinds of creatures, grievances, etc. Anything they don’t want, they dump into the Human World. Giraffes are a prime example.

“However, this is unlike anything they’d ever done before. The witches that inhabit the Demon Realm have powerful magic at their disposal, but portal magic was incredibly rare. That’s why this is a rather big event. It seems they may be trying to reunite with the Spirit World.” He looked at Koal. “When was the exact day Avatar Luz disappeared?”

Koal blinked. “The third of June.”

Szellem narrowed his eyes. “That is about the day I noticed this activity. I feel it’s been happening for a while, now. Around the twenty-first of May.”

“So, you believe that the events are connected,” Kirn spoke, “and that Luz was pulled into this Demon Realm.”

“Correct.” Szellem nodded.

“But Luz was in Omashu when she disappeared,” Kirn was able to read Koal’s thoughts, it seemed. “This is happening in the Spirit World. Last I checked, Omashu was in the Physical World.”

Szellem didn’t comment on that, instead looking to Koal. She seemed to figure out what he was thinking. “Luz’s Avatar spirit might be messing with their portal magic.” Szellem nodded.

“Indeed. Avatar Luz’s presence may be having an effect on the dormant magic of the Demon Realm.” The wolf spirit yawned and stretched. Koal found the action adorable. “As a result, any portals the witches attempt to create in the Physical World may end up here, instead.” Szellem laid down, head in his paws. Kirn processed this information slowly. They would definitely need to tell the others about this. The Red Lotus would have to wait--getting Luz back was top priority.

Unbeknownst to the trio, they had a group of observers.

“So Avatar Luz is in this ‘Demon Realm’. That makes finding her easy.” Zai Fu knew the battle they’d been fighting with the Avatar and her goons two weeks ago had just turned into a race to get to the Demon Realm first.

Silv, ever the realist, spoke up first. “Yeah, uh, one problem with that--no one knows how to get to the Demon Realm. It’s not like we can wait for the portal to open; the Avatar’s friends will be there way before us.” She was mindlessly airbending some leaves around her finger while Reyes was distracted with a suspicious-looking spirit. Zai Fu sighed. He observed the airbenders for a while longer before Reyes spoke up.

“Maybe we don’t need to wait for them. We’ll open the portal ourselves.” His associates looked to him skeptically. The spirit was now standing on Reyes’s shoulder, nodding along as he spoke. Silv was unamused.

“Great idea, Slosh, but have you considered the fact that no one knows  _ how  _ to open that portal?” Reyes was ready to kill Silv from the nickname alone when Zai Fu spoke up.

“No. Reyes is right. We just need to figure out how to open that portal.” A rather sinister smile crept onto his face. “And I know exactly where we need to look to find it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a little shorter, but I feel like it was a good place to end off.  
> Thanks for reading! I hope you're all enjoying this fic. There may be a bit of a wait in between chapters, as I have no beta readers and I'm basically writing this one chapter at a time with ideas that pop into my head every once in a while. In the mean time, check out my other fic, 'The Harrow'! It's somewhat close to wrapping up, but it's still just as enjoyable.  
> Next time: The Red Lotus does research, and the Emperor's Coven prepares to move out.  
> side note: I wonder if anyone asked if abomination-bending should be a thing. Even if they didn't, the answer is yes.


	4. The Emperor's Coven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evil guys make evil plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right. This took a long time, huh?  
> This chapter was originally much longer, but I decided to split it into two. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> Oh! Also: tw//mention of genitals (I hope I did that right). It's nothing too bad and is just used for a joke, but I understand that some people might still be uncomfortable with that.

The spire was a rather beautiful sight, especially at sunset. Granted, most things in the Spirit World would make anyone stop and look for a good while. Silv and Reyes didn’t seem to care much for the sightseeing aspect of the Spirit World. And though Zai Fu was the one between the trio who did appreciate the dimension’s natural beauty, the Red Lotus had more important matters at hand.

Soon enough, the three of them had stepped through the front door of the tower. Books surrounded them from top to bottom. Reyes yawned, not the most excited to spend the next couple of hours rummaging through this entire library for some portal to some dumb alternate world. Then again, it  _ was  _ his fault for suggesting the initial idea of opening the portal, so he knew he had no one to blame but himself.

As they all walked along a bridge of the building, the ever familiar flap of large wings came into earshot. Zai Fu looked up. Wan Shi Tong glided down, perching himself just in front of the benders. The spirit tilted his head before speaking.

“Zai Fu. A pleasure to see you again. What brings you to my library at this hour?” Despite humans typically not being allowed in Wan Shi Tong’s library, Zai Fu was charismatic and knowledgeable enough to get on the owl’s good side. As such, he and his allies are allowed into the library on the condition that they bring a new bit of information every time they do. Sometimes, this is rather easy. Other times, it can be pretty difficult. Today, Reyes was rather eager to share a fact he’d learned a while ago.

“Greetings, Wan Shi Tong. You see, my associates and I have come across a rather interesting find, but we need more research on it. We figured your library would be the best place to do it.”

Wan Shi Tong nodded. “Of course it is. You know the rules, however. What do you have to teach me, He Who Knows One-Thousand Things?” Zai Fu and Silv looked to Reyes, who was practically beaming in anticipation.

“Did you know that a man’s left testicle hangs lower than his right?” Zai Fu sighed and held his head in his hands. A burst of air was sent at Reyes, and Zai Fu had to hold Silv back from beating the waterbender to a bloody pulp. The three of them yelled at each other like siblings before they were silenced by a menacing flap of Wan Shi Tong’s wings.

“Enough!” The spirit calmed himself down. “I did not know this. I’ll allow you entry to my library. Though I feel I may need to revise my rules to discourage the more…  _ obscene _ answers.” He nodded to the three benders before flying off, looking as though he wanted to forget something for the first time in his life. Reyes smirked as he moved Silv’s fist away from his face.

“I knew that would work.”

Zai Fu wondered how someone like him was one of the strongest waterbenders around.

“Your jokes are hilarious, Reyes.” The earthbender looked to his associates, commanding their attention. “We have work to do, however. Let’s try to not get distracted from our goal. As far as I’m concerned, we don’t have much time before the Avatar’s goons find her before we do.” The trio then broke off, prepared to search this library from top to bottom.

A meeting of the Emperor’s Coven had been called after Amity reported her second encounter with the human. At this point, what the witches needed was information. So when Amity told Lilith what had happened in Bonesborough, the coven leader figured it was knowledge that Emperor Belos had to know, as well. The coven’s top honchos were there to decide their next course of action--Amity was only there because she was the one who fought the human. That, and Lilith, her teacher, was making any meetings like this mandatory for the coven member-in-training.

Amity took a deep breath as she stood outside the door to the meeting hall. Her parents, Lilith, Belos, and pretty much all the other important people in the coven were already inside. She wasn’t used to being the last one to something, so she was currently trying to steady her nerves. They were especially bad because she was the one who was going to be speaking the majority of the time. If she thought that standing at the front of the class to demonstrate a spell was intimidating (and sometimes it was), then this would be the equivalent of staring a slitherbeast in the mouth. Slowly, Amity put a hand on the door and pushed, opening it slowly. As it opened, most eyes turned to her. Lilith smiled warmly, and Amity could feel some of her anxiety slip away. Of course, it returned when she laid her eyes on her parents and the Emperor himself. It wasn’t the first time the witch had been in the Emperor’s presence, but Amity had always felt he had this aura surrounding him. An aura that constantly put pressure on her, physically  _ and  _ mentally.

Naturally, no one scared her more than her parents. Odalia Blight observed Amity as though peering into the very depths of her soul. It was a rather uncomfortable feeling. Amity almost moved her hands to instinctively cover her body. Her father, Alador Blight, regarded her in a more dignified manner, giving her a nod as she took a seat next to Lilith. As far as Amity was considered, anyone else in the room wasn’t important--their stares had only lasted for a second.

“Now, then,” Lilith began, “with everyone here, we’ll start the meeting. The agenda of today’s gathering is what to do regarding the human that has recently crossed into our realm. Name: Avatar Luz. Currently, we have the other coven leaders keeping an eye out, along with numerous wanted posters running through the Isles. Numerous people have come in with reports regarding the human, but it's mostly information we already know. Amity Blight encountered the human in the town of Bonesborough two days ago, and will be giving her report on the events that transpired.” She looked across the table. “Are there any questions before Miss Blight begins?”

One witch on the table raised his hand. “Why is this a single coven meeting? I’d figured we’d want the other coven leaders to hear about this, as well.” The man’s dark skin glistened in the false light of the room. Odalia rolled her eyes at his question.

“Oh, please, Hansen, those incompetent sacks couldn’t even capture a witchling in the baby class.” Hansen bared his fangs at Odalia’s response, but gave no further comment. A much taller witch spoke up, instead.

“Remember where you are, Odalia,” Frederick’s voice was deep, and sent a chill down Amity’s spine. A bad one. “All coven leaders are selected by our esteemed and gracious emperor.” He gave a quick nod to Belos, who nodded back. “Insults made in their name is an insult on our ruler, as well.”

“Then tell me why, Frederick, that the loathsome human is still running amok, causing nothing but chaos in her wake? They should be trying harder.” Odalia’s words were tipped in poison, but Frederick’s stone cold face was unmoving.

“ _ If we could get back on track, _ ” Lilith’s commanding voice rang out, silencing the room. “To answer your question, Hansen, the other covens are currently busy enough dealing with new recruits. The last graduating class of Hexside produced far more witches than they seemed to be prepared for, so they’re working hard to make accommodations. There’s also the issue of the upcoming arrival of the Calamity Comet. Currently, there’s no need for them to get involved with a mistake of the Emperor’s Coven.” Hansen seemed pleased with the answer, but Odalia kept her disdainful face on. Alador placed a calming hand on her shoulder, though it had little effect as she shook it off.

“Now, if there are no further comments or questions, Amity will give her report.” Lilith spared an encouraging look in Amity’s direction, grateful for the silent pep talk. She took a deep breath, stood up and pulled out a folder she’d been holding.

“Two days ago, I encountered Avatar Luz in Bonesborough, in a tavern called the Sour Note. She had a disguise made of magic painted on her face, which tells us that she’s no longer working alone. A rather brief battle ensued between her and I, during which…” the report dragged on in the same manner. Amity could practically feel some of the bruises tense up as she described the scene. She slightly rushed the part where the human controlled the liquid that comprised her Abomination and sent it flying at her. “The human then ran away, suffering an injury in their leg.” She closed the folder and sat down. She could feel her mother’s judging eyes piercing into her. Surely, if it weren’t out of line, she’d berate Amity for such a failure and for losing her chance to get a good standing within the coven.

Hansen yawned, his feet sat on the table. “So this human can control Abomination goo now. Guess the Blights over there have fallen off their throne.” He smirked at Odalia as she snarled at him. Frederick nodded.

“This is an unfortunate development, indeed. That’s an entire coven that’s rendered ineffective against the human.” Frederick moved something besides his head for the first time since Amity had walked into the room. His hand scratched his chin as he was deep in thought. “Perhaps the Plant coven may have an easier time restraining her. Illusionists could help, as well.”

“I’ll message the leaders of the Plant and Illusion covens requesting their cooperation.” Lilith made a note on a small pad of paper. “There is also the issue of locating the human. Amity’s encounter in the tavern was left entirely to chance. We may not get that same chance again. We need to figure out where the human has been staying and who she may be working with.”

“It’s already taken care of, Lilith.” Emperor Belos spoke for the first time in the meeting. His voice caused everyone to stop and look. Even Hansen suddenly became aware of what he was doing and sat up straight. “I sent a small group to investigate the scene after we’d gotten word of Amity’s encounter. We found traces of the magic disguise the human used.” On cue, a small figure appeared from behind Belos’s chair. They wore the usual Emperor’s Coven white robe, but with a golden mask covering their face. The small slit in the center of it wasn’t enough to see any of their appearance.

Belos nodded to the figure, who placed a folder down on the table. “Lilith, look through the folder and tell me what you find.” The folder had four things in it; the first was the chemicals that made up the magical face paint Avatar Luz was wearing when she ran into Amity. The second paper was regarding how the material was recovered. The third was a list of suspects. One of the names was circled, and the fourth was a picture to accompany it. Lilith’s stomach dropped.

“Our prime suspect is, erm, Edalyn Clawthorne…” Amity’s eyes widened. Though the Owl Lady was a known criminal, Amity knew that Lilith still cared for her sister deeply. She could practically see the hesitation on Lilith’s face.

Belos nodded. “Indeed. Among other things, the Owl Lady is known for her chemical achievements. This kind of concoction is something that even the head of the Potions coven struggles with. Besides, it’s only natural for criminals to conspire with other criminals.”

“Right then. We simply raid the Owl Lady’s place,” Hansen said, “get two birds with one stone. Petrify the witch, do whatever we feel like doin’ with the human. Easy enough.” Amity could see Lilith tense up at Hansen’s words. 

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Hansen,” Frederick’s ears twitched. “We already struggle to capture either criminal on their own. With the two of them together, plus whoever else they may be sheltering, we can’t rush into this.” He looked towards Lilith and Belos. “A stealth operation is more likely to succeed. With the right witches, we can-”

Odalia hissed. “These fugitives deserve nothing less than what they have done to us. Anything short of a raid would be showing unnecessary mercy.” Hansen smirked that Odalia agreed with him, though she likely had that idea in mind anyway. The table rather quickly erupted into chaos, with Frederick, Hansen and Odalia yelling over each other. Alador had long since stopped trying to keep his wife calm, and would likely be shoving his face into his hands if the Emperor weren’t there.

Overall, this was pretty much addressing what had been nagging at Amity’s mind for the past two weeks. When the human first appeared, everyone had tried to capture her with force. It’s only natural that she’d fight back. Though she’d never say it to their faces, Amity criticized the way everyone had handled this problem.

“Excuse me,” Amity said, but no one stopped talking. Compared to the noise the three of them were creating, Amity’s voice was less than the squeal of a baby slitherbeast. She attempted to break the ‘discussion’ a few more times, only to be ignored and yelled over. Thankfully, Lilith noticed Amity’s distress and managed to quiet down the table. She tapped her staff on the ground.

“You three are in the presence of the Emperor! I’d imagine you would act with respect towards him  _ and  _ to each other when dealing with something such as this. Try to show some decorum in this room!” The three perpetrators were immediately silenced, each staring at Lilith with a wide-eyed expression. If there was one person to fear besides the Emperor himself, it was Lilith Clawthorne. She waited until she was certain they were paying attention before she spoke again. “Now, Amity, you seem a little antsy. Would you care to tell us what’s on your mind?”

That caught Amity off guard. She blinked at Lilith before looking around the table. Belos, thanks to his mask, was unreadable, yet as she stared into the black sockets, she could feel… something. Frederick’s expression had gone back to neutral, and Hansen seemed annoyed, to say the least. Her mother was glaring at Amity, as though she was the reason no decision had been made yet. Finally, as her gaze met her father’s, she saw something she wasn’t expecting.

Intrigue. Amity could’ve sworn she also saw a hint of encouragement, but didn’t want to get her hopes up. She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder and smiled at her teacher. Amity took a deep breath, then stood up.

“Forgive me if this is out of place, but I’m not sure if we’ve been going about this the right way.” Each pair of eyes fell on her, including the Emperor’s. She felt like she was on the inside of a display case, being shown off for everyone to look at. Amity dared a glance at her parents. Alador sat there, eyebrows raised. He didn’t seem angry, per se, but more… curious. Intrigued at his daughter’s comment.

Odalia, however, had her trademark  _ Blight Mom  _ look. “Now, Amity, I hardly think that this is the appropriate time for comments such as-”

“Just a moment, Odalia.” Belos’s voice had surprised all of them. Odalia’s face turned from one of ‘mother knows best’ to a strange mixture of confusion, shock, and maybe even jealousy that her daughter’s comment warranted a response from the Emperor instead of her own. Belos continued, his words now directed towards Amity. “Please continue. What makes you say that we’ve been dealing with this wrongly?”

Amity gulped. She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to actually respond to that question or apologize for saying something out of line. Out of the corner of her eye, her father nodded to her, urging Amity to continue. So, she spoke what was on her mind.

“The human is in an entirely new environment, far from anywhere she’s comfortable. She obviously has some idea of where she is, and has found someone willing to shelter her and guide her. However, someone as… erratic as the Owl Lady may not be the best teacher. If we take a more diplomatic approach, the human may be willing to cooperate with us.”

Silence. If Amity hadn’t had her hands pressed against her clothes, her palms would likely be waterfalls right now. She warily took a glance at everyone around the table. Lilith was looking at her with surprise, but nothing malicious was behind her look. Odalia’s gaze, naturally, was far more judgemental. She probably would’ve spoken up if Emperor Belos wasn’t stroking the chin of his mask (why he did that, none could say). Amity was close to taking back everything she said and running out of the room before an unexpected voice spoke.

“It’s a rather sound idea,” Alador said, “and it’s plausible. Amity did comment that the human was rather friendly when she wasn’t resisting arrest.”

Frederick nodded with him. “The only downside I can think of is that the human is wary and avoids us. Even if that’s the case, we already have other plans in the making. A little diplomacy can go a long way, yes?”

Lilith suddenly sprouted up, as well. “I agree. The human is likely very confused, and needs guidance to understand where she is. Who better to do that than the Emperor’s Coven?” While Amity was grateful that she had her mentor’s support, Lilith’s mind had wandered to her sister’s words when she visited.  _ If magic isn’t going to work, then forget magic. Lay a trap for them. _

“Forgive my… blindness, but I fail to see why we should be treating a criminal with numerous sentences over her head as we would some prince of a distant land.” Odalia’s words dripped with salt water as her daughter’s idea was being considered more than her own. And though Hansen nodded with her, he’d been uncharacteristically silent.

Belos spoke next. “Don’t be naive, Odalia. The human acted in ways that are understandable, and forgivable, for that matter. The damage she has caused is rather minimal, and can be repaired rather easily. Our focus should be simply obtaining the human.” His head turned towards Amity. “And I believe your daughter’s plan may be the best way to achieve that.”

Her mother balked at that, but Amity wasn’t really paying attention. When she heard Belos say that, she felt like she was supposed to feel proud that her idea had garnered the attention of the Emperor himself. However, Amity felt like she’d just dug herself into a hole. Thankfully, she was saved when Hansen finally decided to speak up.

“That’s all well and good, but there’s a problem with that. Who the heck is gonna be the one that gains her trust? She doesn’t exactly see any coven witches as friendly, you know.” He had a good point. After all the Emperor’s Coven had put the human through, it was doubtful that she’d be willing to trust them so easily. Belos, though, didn’t seem to care all that much.

“Yes, it will be a difficult process, but I’m sure our little Blight will be up to the task, won’t she?”

Amity couldn’t believe her ears. Sure, she had suggested the idea, but the thought that she’d be the one selected for the mission never crossed her mind. Clearly, it hadn’t been on the minds of her parents, either. Odalia practically launched herself out of her chair as she stood up.

“What?!” When she received a rather harsh glare from Belos and Lilith, she quickly composed herself. “Apologie, my liege, but I fail to see why Amity should be the one to do this. She’s still in training, after all, and should be focusing on smaller tasks.”

Alador stood up to place a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Now, dear, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Amity has always had a way of talking to people, whether they were against her or beside her. Besides, I believe that this is a perfect opportunity for Amity to prove herself.” Amity couldn’t be more grateful for her father’s words, but she still wasn’t sure if she was up for this.

“I also think Amity is the best for this mission. From her appearance, we can guess that the human is around eighteen to twenty years old. It’s best if we have someone around her age talk to her.” Lilith’s mind was going into overdrive as she concocted a plan. She made a mental note to visit her sister once more to thank her for the advice.

Belos also seemed convinced. “Perfect. Amity, I trust you’ll be taking on this responsibility gracefully?”

She wanted to say no. That this was beyond her expertise, and that they should pick someone else. However, with the pressure that both her mentor and her father seemed to be pushing onto her, she stammered and slipped up.

“Y-Yeah, sure.” When she realized the informality of her response, she quickly corrected herself. “I mean, o-of course, Emperor Belos. I’d be more than willing to complete this mission.”

“Wonderful. You have my regards, little Blight.” Belos stood up, easily towering over everyone else in the room. “With that, I believe this meeting is adjourned. I have some business in the lab to attend to. Lilith, I trust you will help our little diplomat prepare for her mission. Frederick, if you would come with me, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you.” In the blink of an eye, the two witches had disappeared from the room.

Amity suddenly felt Lilith’s hand on her shoulder. “Alright, Amity, let’s go get ready.” The coven leader gave a quick acknowledgement to the remaining people, then guided Amity out of the meeting room. As the two of them walked, she could feel her mother’s eyes boring into the back of her skull. A chill ran down her spine as Amity wondered just what she’d gotten herself into.

The two of them soon found their way to Lilith’s office. The young witch wondered why they’d be here, of all places. Lilith quickly stepped towards a cabinet and rummaged through it.

“I’d wanted to wait until you were a bit older before giving you this,” she explained, “but I feel that with receiving such a big mission from the Emperor himself, you will need a little company.” She then approached Amity and held out two items for her. One of them was a long, slim rod. Amity recognized it as the base of a witch’s staff. Which only meant that the block of wood was-

“I’m… making my palisman? Now? Here?” Amity couldn’t accurately describe the things she was feeling. Surprise, panic, and excitement were among the emotions swirling inside her. She suddenly felt like a little kid again, about to open a present from her best friend.

Lilith simply smiled and nodded. “Yes. I feel you’re ready for what a palisman can provide for you.” The two of them then spent the next three hours carefully crafting Amity’s new companion. Though she was nervous at first that her palisman would show any sort of distaste towards her, her worries were swept away when Tarkona the Dragon Palisman immediately nuzzled Amity’s cheek once he was born.

Amity and Tarkona set out not long after. Lilith saw her off, telling her that she was proud of her brightest pupil. Amity was excited, and began to feel better about this mission she’d basically given herself. She found determination within herself and assured herself that she’d accomplish her goal and make amends with Avatar Luz.

If she’d known of the darkness that this mission would bring about, though, perhaps she would never have shared her thoughts. Not with her parents, Lilith, or Belos.  _ Especially  _ Belos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be pretty long winded, so bear with me on this one.  
> With my other fic reaching its conclusion soon, I've put a lot of energy into making sure that it was as best as could be. As such, I somewhat neglected this fic. Then midterms hit me like a truck and I realized just how much school work I've also been putting off in favor of writing stories about the most unexpected hyperfixation I'd ever have. I'm also going through a lot of shit regarding my identity and who I am but that's waaay too personal so I'm gonna leave it at that.  
> What I'm trying to say is that my energy has largely been elsewhere. This is a fic and an AU that I want to see thrive, and I know I can't do that when I'm in a rather bad spot, like where I am now. What does all this mean? It means that some chapters might take a day to release, and some may take a few weeks. Not having a beta reader certainly doesn't help, but I'm done complaining (for now).  
> Apologies in advance if there's a sudden hiatus inbetween chapters. It's nothing I do on purpose, but motivation comes and goes. Completing high school does come first, but I will try to work on this story whenever I can! That's a promise! I absolutely refuse to abandon this fic, even if completing it is the last thing I do!  
> Anyway, I'm done for now. Thank you for reading, and I'll see you next chapter!


	5. Regarding This Work

Hello readers,

It's with a heavy heart that I tell you all that I've currently put this work on hold for the foreseeable future. I've currently no motivation to work on this story and I'm really not sure where I want to go with it. This is entirely my fault. I jumped in to a project that I thought sounded exciting without a clear plan as to how to share that with all of you. Thus, I found myself at a loss on how to write this story without making it feel forced, or worse than other bits of writing I've done. So, I've decided that it's just best to put this on the back burner for now.

Does this mean I'm going to stop writing altogether? No. I have another project that I've been working on an outline for. It'll be slightly more reminiscent of my previous fic, and the first chapter will likely be releasing within the next two weeks. 

Depending on what happens, I may end up giving this fic to someone who's passionate enough about a barely developed AU, if the world demands it. However, if this fic does end up being completed, it likely won't be by my hand.

Thank you all for your support. I hope you'll have patience with me, and I look forward to sharing my work with you all again.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to my Avatar AU of the Owl House! Somewhat inspired by another work like this. Basically, Luz is the Avatar (2nd reincarnation after Korra), and Amity is now a member of the Emperor's Coven. Other characters will be introduced as the story goes on.  
> Don't worry, I'm still working on my other story. I needed to get this idea off my chest, and I feel it's off to a good start. This one will be longer than my other one, I can say that much.  
> Goodbye for now!


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